Initiate ad breaks manually

AI-generated Key Takeaways

• This guide explains how to manually control ad break playback timing in your Android app using the IMA SDK.

• By disabling autoplay and listening for the AD_BREAK_READY event, you can trigger ad breaks at your desired moments.

• This feature is optional and provides flexibility for publishers who need custom ad playback control beyond the default ad schedule.

• The Advanced Example showcases the implementation, but the Basic Example with the Exoplayer-IMA extension cannot be used as a basis for this guide.

Select platform: Android iOS

This guide provides instructions on overriding the default ad break schedule and configuring your own ad break playback timings. When manual ad break playback is implemented, the SDK fires an AD_BREAK_READY event when an ad break has loaded, and waits on you to start the break's playback.

Prerequisites

• An Android application with the IMA SDK implemented.

Configuring manual ad break playback

To configure manual ad break playback:

1. Tell the SDK you want to control ad break playback.
2. Listen for the AD_BREAK_READY event.
3. Tell the SDK to play ads when you're ready.

The snippet below shows the modifications required to the Advanced Example to implement manual ad break playback.

Key Point: The Basic Example implements the Exoplayer-IMA extension which handles the setup of ImaSdkSettings and AdEvents. Because of this, the Basic Example is not able to be used as a starting point for this guide.

public VideoPlayerController(
      Context context,
      VideoPlayerWithAdPlayback videoPlayerWithAdPlayback,
      View playButton,
      View playPauseToggle,
      String language,
      ViewGroup companionViewGroup,
      Logger log) {
  ...
  
  sdkFactory = ImaSdkFactory.getInstance();
  ImaSdkSettings imaSdkSettings = sdkFactory.createImaSdkSettings();
  imaSdkSettings.setLanguage(language);
  // Tell the SDK you want to control ad break playback.
  imaSdkSettings.setAutoPlayAdBreaks(false);
  
  ...
}
...
@Override
public void onAdEvent(AdEvent adEvent) {
    ...
    switch (adEvent.getType()) {
      // Listen for the AD_BREAK_READY event.
      case AD_BREAK_READY:
        // Tell the SDK to play ads when you're ready. To skip this ad break,
        // simply return from this handler without calling adsManager.start().
        adsManager.start();
        break;
      ...
}

FAQ

Is manual ad playback required for an IMA SDK implementation?

No. manual ad playback is an optional feature for publishers who don't want the IMA SDK to automatically play ad breaks as scheduled by an ad rule or VMAP response.